Pharmaceutical Advertising Pharmaceutical advertising, which dates back to the 18th and 19th century, conveys a message to consumers in which medication can relieve just about any ailment. Today, these ads are everywhere. They exist on billboards, television, radio, the newspaper, magazines, and the Internet. Direct-to-consumer marketing (DTC) almost challenges the individual to question whether or not he or she has a medical issue. This is synonymous with selling an illness and not a remedy. Pharmaceutical advertising and marketing among health care providers remains questionable in terms of ethical practices. Pharmaceutical representatives promote their medications through a commonly known marketing strategy, which involves the use of gifts to entice or persuade the health care provider. These gifts involve pens, pads, lunch, dinner, and luxurious trips. Effective advertising and marketing should promote a product that gains the interest of an individual without question. Advertising, mainly in the form of pharmaceuticals should not be misleading and should not insinuate that common occurrences produce a medical problem.
The History of DTC Marketing Originating in the 18th and 19th century, DTC marketing deluded consumers through misleading and falsified advertising. Moving on into the 20th century, “pharmaceutical ads accounted for nearly half of newspapers’ advertising revenue” (Huh, DeLorme, Reid, & Soontae, 2010, para. 3). The Pure Food and Drug Act became a law in 1906 in which Congress placed regulations in relation to advertising. However, the law was amended in 1938 placing stipulations on medications stating that they have to be approved prior to marketing. “Prior to 1962, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had jurisdiction over advertising, including prescription drug advertising” (Huh et al, 2010, para. 6). Currently the Food and Drug Administration